Although photomask defect repair tools based on FIB, AFM and pulsed laser are mainly used in current production
lines, there is a possibility they will not meet the requirements of 45nm generation photomasks. The EB repair tool is one
of the candidates that has a possibility of meeting those requirements. The EB repair tool, MeRiT-MGTM, has already
been announced by Carl Zeiss GmbH. The basic performance of this tool has been reported.1)
Recently MoSi mask is most commonly used in leading edge devices, and defects are mainly opaque type. For this
reason, the performance of EB-repair tool for MoSi etching should be investigated. In this paper, we will report the
evaluation results of MeRiT-MGTM and consider whether this tool has a possibility of meeting the requirements of 45nm
generation photomasks.
In order to evaluate the performance of MeRiT-MGTM, we prepared 180nm half pitch line & space pattern of ArFatt.
PSM with programmed defects. These programmed defects are not only simple extrusion shape but also of various
shapes and sizes. By using these defects, we made practical experiment which would happen in real production line.